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COTA Queensland continues to work closely with Palliative Care Queensland (PCQ) to better understand the needs of Queenslanders as they age.

The aim of the collaboration is to utilise the strengths, knowledge and experience of each organisation to promote supports available to Queenslanders to live and to die well. The number of people aged over 65 in Queensland will increase significantly over the next 20 years and many people experience barriers accessing the appropriate support services when they need them.… Read the rest

The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) on behalf of the Queensland Government is developing Queensland’s first walking strategy to look at ways to encourage people to walk more often. TMR is also including jogging, running and moving with help from a mobility device like a wheelchair or a walking frame.

What would get you walking more?

It’s not too late to step up and have your say on the future of walking in Queensland.

The Queensland Government has developed a new online portal to assist veterans and their families to find the services they need in Queensland. They are also seeking feedback on the portal from veterans, their families or organisations who work with veterans. To access the portal go to www.qld.gov.au/community/getting-support-health-social-issue/veterans.

In December the Commonwealth Government announced the release of 10,000 high level home care packages as part of the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) budget review.

The 10,000 new high-level home care packages deliver important services at home, such as complex clinical care from a range of providers, nursing and mobility care, nutrition, hydration and meal preparation and transport support.

The packages will be available from early 2019 and split across 5,000 level 3 and 5,000 level 4 packages … Read the rest

Following on from the Legislated Review of Aged Care 2017 (the Tune Report) the Commonwealth has announced a streamlined consumer assessment process for all aged care services to be delivered by a new national assessment workforce by 2020.

The Department has released a discussion paper to consult on a streamlined assessment model and seek the views of stakeholders and interested parties, including those representing consumers, assessment services, aged care providers and the health and aged care workforce. Submissions are open … Read the rest

The new Aged Care Quality and Safety commission began on January 1 2019 and combines the previous responsibilities of both the Aged Care Quality Agency and Aged Care Complaints Commission into one streamlined organisation.

COTA Australia Chief Executive Ian Yates said the Commission, headed by new Commissioner Janet Anderson PSM, “is another significant step towards stronger monitoring and enforcement of quality in Australia’s aged care system, supported by a regime of unannounced visits by assessors, and new, more consumer-focused aged … Read the rest

The Department of Health is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) for innovative proposals for the delivery of CHSP services. The aim is to “identify more effective, efficient and user-centric options for the provision of entry level aged care services ”. The EOI will close at 2pm (ACT Local Time, so 3pm in Queensland) Friday 1 February 2019.

The future of the regulation that requires large supermarkets to provide the unit price (price per unit of measure – such as per 100g and per litre) on shelf labels, etc. for packaged grocery items is being reviewed by the federal government.

The review will determine whether the regulation should continue, and if so whether it should be changed.

The review includes a short online survey which allows consumers to give their views on the present system and what they … Read the rest

This research was commissioned by the Federation of nine Councils on the Ageing (COTA) across Australia – including all eight COTA state and territory organisations and COTA Australia – in order to understand the views, life experiences and needs of Australians aged 50+.

Newgate Research conducted a nationally representative online survey lasting 25 minutes on average, with a robust sample of 2,562 Australians aged 50 and over, with quotas set for state and territory, metropolitan and regional areas, gender … Read the rest